I think the trainer can bring it up ; How, depends on the circumstances ie. if the trainer notices the women is wear workout cloths without washing them , maybe the trainer could suggest a shower and changing before coffee , if the trainer noticed the person smelled worse as the week goes on and then ok again on Monday. If the is not an apparent reason I think the trainer can have a delicate conversation about BO in general not " You smell" but more "This is something my client have asked me for advice on" type conversation.

The underlying message shoudl NOT be "you're inconveniencing other people; fix it."

It should be "this scent problem might indicate something serious--perhaps you should check it out so you will be safe."

"I've noticed that your underarm body odor is quite a bit stronger than other people's. Sometimes that's an indicator of medical conditions, like reduced kidney function. Have you ever investigated that?" and then, especially if the answer is no, "I think perhaps you should talk to your doctor about it. I'd feel so much better if you did--just in case it is an indicator of something serious."

I say this bcs I've had medical issues that I kept brushing aside until someone who cared about me said, "You should take that to a doctor, just in case."

She might be one of the unlucky ones....or she might have more medical issues than she is comfortable sharing with the world at large.

True, and she does have this right. But I would think that any known medical condition that serious should be shared with one's personal trainer, if not all of the other staff at the gym. It might affect how she should be coached in terms of working out, and it might cause a medical emergency that the trainer, at least, should know about and what to tell the emergency responders should they have to be called.

You should consider checking how the gym clothes are washed too. There's been a bit of a push to wash at cool temperatures, and that might be inadequate for sweaty gym clothes. Suggest washing at as high a temp as the fabric will allow.

The underlying message shoudl NOT be "you're inconveniencing other people; fix it."

It should be "this scent problem might indicate something serious--perhaps you should check it out so you will be safe."

"I've noticed that your underarm body odor is quite a bit stronger than other people's. Sometimes that's an indicator of medical conditions, like reduced kidney function. Have you ever investigated that?" and then, especially if the answer is no, "I think perhaps you should talk to your doctor about it. I'd feel so much better if you did--just in case it is an indicator of something serious."

I say this bcs I've had medical issues that I kept brushing aside until someone who cared about me said, "You should take that to a doctor, just in case."

I agree but I would add that it would be even better if the attitude of "I've seen this before, I've seen everything before and you're not actually bothering me, other people have had this problem that I have seen and there was a reason and they could fix it." That way, it would help her not feel as isolated or "different".

Something as simple as a modification of your original statement, like this: "quite a bit stronger than most other people's" could go a long way. Just some way to make it seem like less of a personal judgement and more like a helpful comment, that is what I would want.

You should consider checking how the gym clothes are washed too. There's been a bit of a push to wash at cool temperatures, and that might be inadequate for sweaty gym clothes. Suggest washing at as high a temp as the fabric will allow.

That is a very good point. Someone might genuinely think they are doing the right thing, washing their workout clothes every time, but not realizing that the washing is not adequate, due to temperature or the wrong detergent or whatever.

From what I am gathering, this has nothing to do with gym clothes. If it did, she would smell before she even lifted up her arms.

It appears this has to do with her underarm area only. Is there a medical condition that affects your underarm area only?

I think the trainer needs to bring this situation up. If I was the trainer, I certainly would be doing it. Unfortunately, I have a very strong sense of smell and if this gal is as bad as you say, (that you can smell the odor from many feet away), then this wold be a problem for me. Does this gal wear deordorant? Does she shave her underarm area or is their hair?

I think that for me, I would rather have the trainer say something, but in a professional manner. I would like them to address it as, you seem to be having a problem I have seen many times before, that even I had when I first started working out, that I didn't know it would be a good idea to [I don't know what-put on extra deodorant before working out, switch deodorants to a stronger one....whatever] so I'm just passing this information along to you.

That way, it would seem more like just part of learning from the trainer, the same as learning how to properly do pushups or whatever. It's part of a trainer's job, I think, to make the workout experience the best and most productive possible for the client, and advice on physical comfort regarding clothing or sweating too much or whatever could be part of that.

POD to this. I would think a personal trainer at a gym would have to offer constructive criticism on a lot of sensitive things, and they would quickly learn to do it in a way that worked for most people. "You're too out-of-shape to do that level of exercise right now," "You need to push yourself more if you want to see results," "You need to get into these awkward and embarrassing positions in order to do the exercise right," etc.. So I would think it wouldn't be a stretch to talk about deodorant strength, properly washing workout clothes, etc..

Along the lines of what another person has already said here -- you do need to consider the possibility that this woman is well aware of the situation and unable to fix it. Those of you stating how you'd rather be told, so that you can fix it -- you're assuming she can fix it. Maybe she can't. I went through a period in my late teens/early 20s when I apparently reeked. I was showering regularly, using deodorant, and according to my physician, I was perfectly healthy. However, more than one supervisor at work took it upon themselves to "kindly" and as tactfully as possible "inform" me that I had a body odor problem that was bothering people in the workplace,and I should do something about it. I in fact lost one job because of this. I to this day do not understand what I was supposed to do - at one point I was literally showering at the door of my "shower-in/shower-out" workplace, I was using deodorant, I'd seen a doctor... the problem eventually went away after about 6 or 7 years. But those conversations in which someone "informed" me of the problem stand out to this day as some of the most painful and humiliating moments of my life. And it's been 20+ years since then. I would MUCH RATHER people had politely pretended not to notice.

In this scenario, your trainer should suggest some products to help deal with working out odors. Or a friend may lean in close to you and tell you quietly that you might need a stronger cleaning product. I would NOT want a random employee or stranger to tell you.

What got ME upset was the day I came in to a note on my desk about how *I* had reeked the day before and I shouldn't use whatever it was because it was too strong and unpleasant on me.

My supervisor had talked to the guy behind me and he had mentioned that HE had mistaken his wife's perfume (strong) for his aftershave (much less of the scent ingredients) and I knew who had really been the one scenting the work area for twenty feet around....I had just come from a classroom with a scent allergic trainer - I wasn't wearing cologne, perfume, toilet water, or anything "stronger" than scented soap in the shower and talc powder. I KNEW that it wasn't me.

But the person writing the note chose the woman instead of a man to write the note to.